CB - How do you use chat?

You need one of the 4 Chat Funkeys to chat on the game. They are Gabby, Rewind, Holler and ROM. Each of them has a different clubhouse. Gabby's is in Funkeystown, west of the river, south of the Laputta Station portal, north of Con's car dealership. Holler's is also in Funkeystown, at UFUNK Studios, right where you start each game. ROM's Nexus is on Laputta Station, just west of the portal from Funkeystown. Rewind has his Roost on Funkiki Island, a little south of the portal from Funkeystown.

Inside each Chat Funkey's clubhouse is a store where you can buy stuff, including telephones and cell phones. Each clubhouse also has a chat room, instead of a game. Stand on the circle in the centre to enter the chat room.

One you're inside the chat room, you can choose from one of several drop-down menus to build a conversation. You can ask a question, talk about Funkeys or games or cribs, use emoticons (smileys), or say special catch phrases unique to the Funkey you're using. You need the right Chat Funkey to enter the chat room, but once you're inside. you can change to another Funkey. A chat room is also a good place to use your Funkey Trunk moods, if you have any.

Actual conversation is a bit tricky, it takes a while to get the hang of it. Select your phrase or sentence, then click on the button on the bottom right to say it. You'll find it difficult to say certain things. For instance, you can say 'My favourite game is Fly Catcher' but you can't say 'I also like Sunshine Links'. So if someone tells you 'My favourite game is Fly Catcher', 'My favourite game is Funk-Jongg', 'My favourite game is Bombastic Billiards', 'My favourite game is Scoop Stacker', then it probably just means they like all of those games.

If you stay in a Chat Room for a long time - 30 to 90 minutes - then you can get that room in your crib's game room, similar to getting a game in your crib.

If you have a telephone in your crib - it has to be out on the floor or wall, not in your bag of My Stuff - then you can ask a buddy on your buddy list to come over to visit & chat. A cell phone allows you to chat with a buddy no matter where you are, or where your buddy is. You both have to be online though!

Sometimes a buddy will say no to an invitation, they may be busy playing a game or exploring. Or they may have stepped away from their computer and missed your invitation. The same thing can happen when you invite someone to be your buddy.

In order for your chat features to work, you need a good connection with the Mattel server. If you have a good connection, your avatar head will have a yellow halo, like this:

Sometimes after you've been playing for a while your halo will vanish but you will still have a good connection.

Here's a buddy list:

Revvinon's name is highlighted, she is the only one of my buddies online. She is playing a game - that SP means 'Single Player' game. MP means 'multiplayer' game.

Here's the full chat menu:

#1 is your avatar head. If you get the 'Master Lox strikes again' message, you won't have a halo and you won't be able to chat.#2 is usually set to Ready to Party. If you click on it it will change to Do Not Disturb. You can use that if you don't feel like chatting or playing MP (multiplayer) games.#3 is the button to open your buddy list.#4 (near the bottom) is an example of one of your buddies who is online and possibly available for a chat. My friend vinniesse is probably playing Funk-Jongg again!#5 is the button you use to invite someone over. Click on their name on your buddy list, and if the phone symbol at #5 is green, you can invite them over.

Telphones and cell phones are expensive. 500 coins each! You can buy a cell phone and telephone from each Chat Funkey's store, but all you really need is 1 cell phone. Now and then the phones seem to stop working and you have to buy a new one. That seems to happen if you don't use them often enough.